3 Bangladeshis repatriated from Malaysia not militants: Home Adviser

Home Affairs Adviser Jahangir Alam Chowdhury on Sunday said the three Bangladeshis recently repatriated from Malaysia are not militants.

“They’re not militants… their visas had simply expired,” he said while talking to reporters following an inspection of the Export Cargo Village at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport.

The adviser said there are no militants in Bangladesh and those sent back from Malaysia have no links to militancy either.

When asked about the Malaysian police chief’s statement on the matter, the adviser replied, “I am not aware of whether they termed the returnees as militants. We have not received any official communication from Malaysia in this regard. But, our Ministry of Foreign Affairs has already issued a statement on the matter.”

The adviser said there have been no reports of militancy in the country over the past ten months.

He appreciated the collective national efforts for the successful eradication of militancy from Bangladesh.

Regarding airport operations, the adviser acknowledged that recent disruptions in export activities were due to procedural complications from the National Board of Revenue (NBR).

These disruptions, he said, particularly affected the exporters of agricultural goods.

Highlighting the government’s commitment to addressing this issue, Jahangir Alam said the new terminal at the airport would feature cold storage facilities dedicated to agricultural exports.

He emphasised the importance of boosting vegetable and agro-produce exports and expanding pre-loading cold storage services.

The adviser also stressed the need for diversifying export commodities rather than relying on a single product category.